http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8290798/v30.mp3 < v30

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8290798/texas%20heat.mp3 <Texas Heat

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8290798/k100.mp3 < K100


Same cab (1936) and mic position in each clip, and tracks are reamped for consistency.


Made this for the Sneap forums. I don't post much over there but when I do I try to "give back" to the community as there's so much good info there.

Which one do YOU like?

I simply love the sound of V30s for metal.

In general, i don't understand or support the lengths that metal doods tend to go to to kill the high end in their guitar sounds. Those high mids are what make shit sound pissed off IMO. Utterly required for violent music, in my view.

I liked the V30 a lot, followed by the K100. Actually they are tied. The Texas Heat, not so much. It did kind of remind me of DAMBRAG's toan though.

Yeah I don't understand why metal players kill the top end either... listen to any clip on netmusicians/tonefinder and they're all dull and dead sounding.


And Dimebag used Texas Heats if I remember correctly, so that might be why?

Is that so? Well then.

What Chris said. V30s are made for that sound. Clean? Don't much care for 'em at all. Mid-gain? There's better. That upper mid spike they have though is pure anger. They are what they are, especially in a closed-back 4x12. They're awfully good at what they do, though. The big wattage scoopy things don't have the nuts the V30 has.

Oddly, I like 75s with something really upper-midsy like a Marshall or a 5150, assuming the amp is turned way up, as they smooth out a bit there with volume and tame the harsher bits- assuming the thing's dialed in right.

I've long been under the impression bad metal tone isn't taking the rest of the band into account. This is borne out by personal experience, stuff that just gets eaten up when the bass and drums kick in no matter how loud it is. With some amps, some players can get away with the super-scoopy thing even live and still sound good. I'm thinking of when I saw Iced Earth like 11-12 years ago now. Schaeffer's tone with the Larrys was just ridiculous. (The other guitarist in my band has played one and will confirm they are really impressive- friend of his in Canadia has one- and he has a Herbert.) In Flames opened, and I'd seen them a bunch, and their live tone was always really good- thick mids, plenty of girth, but that thing was something else. Their {Iced Earth's] other guitarist had an SLO and it [the Larry] beat out even that.

From the Sneap forums:







Apparently my tones actually ARE good. Those guys are some nitpicky bastards.



You know your tone is good when people want to make presets from it.

Those guys really are fussy about shit. They have a particular standard, largely. I almost never go there anymore 'cause I'm so not into the stuff they're into, but I've always appreciated part of their approach, which is making shiny things In The Box on small budgets. I might not like the sounds they're pulling or the bands they're recording, but there is a real wealth of knowledge there, of a sort the bigger forums can look down on sometimes. They have a particular thing they tend to collectively like sonically, but they acknowledge it can be done with "everyman" kinda gear- you can get there from here if you use your ears and know your stuff. And I like that.

v30 no doubt.